The Little Boy
by Thingygazinga
Summary: Luke meets a little boy with big, sea green eyes one day. Takes place when Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth are on the run. One-shot. K just in case.


Luke swung the backpack around and peeked in for the third time in almost two minutes.  
 _Fresh sleeping bags...check. Toiletries... check. Spare clothes...check. Other necessary stuff...yup._  
He zipped the bag back up and threw it back over his shoulder. Luke glanced at the watch he had stolen from Walmart a long while back. Thirty minutes. He did some calculations and nodded in satisfaction. Then he turned and headed to the candy store down the street, _Sweet on America._  
Now, you may be frowning and going like, "Dude. You're on the run, fighting monsters, and moving camp every two days. Why the heck would you stop by a candy store?"  
Actually, Luke had been thinking of stealing something sweet for a while. It had been about five weeks since he and Thalia had found Annabeth. Over the course of the weeks, it had been even more challenging for them to split up the food. A lot of the times, they slept on an empty stomach.  
And Luke didn't want Annabeth to live through a worse childhood than him. He wanted the little seven year old to grow up and tell stories of the time when she was on the run with two other crazy people.  
Like, ' _When I was on the run, I ate Snickers and Mars bars while fighting scary, scary monsters!'_  
So yeah. Luke was heading to the candy store. Sue him.  
He leaned on a pole as he watched the store's light dim, then as the sign flipped from OPEN to CLOSED.  
Luke waited patiently as a figure slipped out and there was an audible _clic_ k as the door locked. He glanced back at his watch. Thirty seven minutes since he left Thalia and Annabeth. If he was gonna steal candy for them, he better do it fast. Or else Thalia just might kill him for worrying her.  
Steadily, he made his way to the red, white, and blue store.  
Luke got in the store no problem. He stole a bag of candy, checked that there was no evidence for him to be accused of shoplifting, then stealthily glided back out. Easy peasy.  
But then he turned around, after making sure the door was back to safely locked, and almost got a heart attack.  
Standing behind him was a little boy, staring at him with wide, bright green eyes. In his hands was a big bag of candy.  
Immediately, Luke was on high alert. His brain screamed _MONSTER!_ And he warily took a step back, keeping a safe distance away.  
The boy opened his mouth, and Luke searched for the signs of a monster. No sharp teeth...or forked tongue...okay. So maybe he was a little paranoid. He kept his tense position though, just in case.  
"What are you doing?" The boy asked with such innocence and naiveness that Luke relaxed. Nope. This was definitely not a monster.  
He ignored the little boy's question, instead asking one of his own.  
"Hey, kid. Where's your mom?" Luke asked, looking around. Crap. Maybe this boy really _wa_ s a monster...  
The boy frowned and also looked around.  
"Over there." He said, and pointed a finger in the distance. Luke looked in that direction and spotted a womanly figure not so far away. Even in the cloudy, dark day, Luke concluded that she was looking his way. Craaaaap. If she figured out...  
He glanced at his watch. Forty five minutes. He should _really_ get back.  
Luke stared at the little boy and...gosh. He should really stop calling the little boy the little boy. He'll call him...Bob. Right. So he had to find a way to get past Bob non-suspiciously...if that was even a word.  
"Look, kid. Why don't you get back to your mom, and I'll just be on my way. Okay? Great."  
He barely made ten feet when Bob spoke again.  
"The stores closed."  
Luke froze in his tracks. Darn. Maybe the kid wasn't as dumb as Luke thought.  
He faced the kid again, and Bob gave him a knowing glance ( which was kinda unnerving, what with the unusual sea green color and all...) and glanced at the bag of candy in Luke's grip.  
Something in Luke snapped then. He was angry. Angry at the gods for making him, Thalia, and Annabeth go on the run because of their messed up families, angry that he couldn't even steal a bag of candy without being caught, heck, angry at _Bob._  
The fates were cruel. Why couldn't Luke just get something for Thalia and Annabeth without anything happening on the way? Why couldn't his trip be smooth and non-eventful? But noooo. Bob _had_ to be there.  
Bob probably came from a snobby, rich family that had luxurious and comfortable stuff everywhere, while Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth slept in damp, cold caves and ate beef jerky for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.  
It just made Luke so _mad._  
He pulled his lip back in a sneer, getting ready to growl at Bob, or threaten him.  
But then Bob did something that shocked all the anger out of him.  
He handed his bag of candy to Luke and grinned toothily up at him, blinking owlishly.  
"You look like you need it..." Then, "but could I just have one piece of the blue licorice?"

Five years later, Luke met a boy named Percy Jackson. He didn't know why, but Percy seemed familiar. Almost like...that little boy he dubbed Bob.


End file.
